WRAP in association with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Defra has produced a new guidance that sets out best practice in the choice and application of date labels and storage advice.
It brings together recommendations that ensure food is safe and adheres to legal requirements, with best practice information to ensure it is stored and used within time. In addition, the guidance is calling for more helpful logos alongside text on packaging, including the reintroduction of the freezing snowflake logo. It also introduces a new Little Blue Fridge icon for foods which should be kept chilled, or benefit from being kept in the fridge.
The guide has been developed following WRAP’s 2015 Retailer Survey, which found an overall ‘mixed-bag’ in food labelling and storage advice. WRAP reported that changes to products, packaging and labelling made in response to earlier recommendations avoided nearly 150,000 tonnes of food being wasted in 2015, saving families an estimated £400 million.
Marcus Gover, CEO at WRAP explains, “A key way to help reduce household food waste is to give people as long as possible to use the food they buy. Labelling information can help with many aspects of this. Telling people clearly how long a product can be consumed once opened, and giving consistent and simple information about storing and freezing, will help people keep their food fresher for longer, and give more options to freeze the food and use it later- rather than binning food that could have been eaten. That’s why I’m delighted that industry has been so involved in developing this guidance, and for the support of the FSA and Defra. Now it’s time to implement these strategies and WRAP will continue to monitor how industry does.”
Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said: “I welcome this clear guidance to help tackle food waste, without compromising the safety of food. It will help businesses supply food that is properly described and stored, and safely provided to consumers. Reducing food waste is really important to consumers. It’s a commitment we at the Food Standards Agency share with WRAP and Defra, and a growing majority of food businesses up and down the country.”
WRAP is currently working with the UK’s largest food companies and manufacturers to help them implement changes across own brand and branded items. With the average retailer stocking between 20,000 and 30,000 different products, changes will take time to appear on shelf but early indications are that more changes will soon begin to appear. Already WRAP has noted the following improvements:
- More pasteurised fruit juices and hard cheeses moving from ‘Use By’ to nearly all now carrying a ‘Best Before’ date.
- More fresh produce carrying advice to store in the fridge, to keep it fresher for longer.
- The use of ‘freeze on day of purchase’ being replaced by best practice advice to ‘freeze before the date shown’, particularly on fresh meat.
And as part of WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2025 voluntary agreement, businesses are exploring whether the ‘Open Life’ on bagged salads could be extended. This would result in people having an extra day to eat the salad once opened.
Source: WRAP’s press release